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Sunday, April 28, 2019

The original pearlescent white hat quite a few scratches, some specs of rust and we didn't really like the original 'record du monde' transfers with checkerboard graphics. And as there were a few modifications we wanted to make to the frame we decided not to hold back with the torch and go for a repaint complete with our own decals.

Repaint: Before and after.

Repaint: Before and after.

Repaint: Before and after.

Among the modifications we wanted to make were:

conversion of the shifter boss threads from M5x1 to the common M5x0.8

adding water bottle bosses

adding a braze on for a Simplex 'direct mount' front derailleur to replace the orginial one with the fragile delrin band.

reinforce the 'mixte-laterals' in an attempt to fight some of the frame's lateral whippyness

add a chain-rest

add a cable housing guide for the rear derailleur

re-shape the lopsided twin fork crown which must have been brazed in a hurry and without alignment

slightly re-file some of the generally beautiful fillets

Frame modifications: brazing of an M5x0.8 insert into the original Simplex
shifter boss.

Frame modifiactions: An M6 threaded boss was added in order to
accommodate a Simplex 'direct mount' front derailleur.

Frame modification: Triangulation of the 'mixte-laterals' in an attempt to remedy
the whippyness of the frame.

Choosing a color was not obvious, and we hesitated between the original pearlescent white, some blue, toxic green, metallic orange and candy apple red. Pearlescent white was not available from the powder coater, we couldn't agree on any of the samples of blue in the shop, nor for the orange which can be hit and miss, and the toxic metallic green we found gorgeous on the sample tends to turn out differently on painted frames we saw in the shop, so we finally settled on candy apple red which I like on the Velo Velo Orange Pass Hunter, and which works well with the decals of our own design.